


A traitor's guilt, come to life

by Yeetlejuice



Category: Persona 4
Genre: A lotta swears, Other, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 03:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20370196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeetlejuice/pseuds/Yeetlejuice
Summary: Warning: spoilers for Persona 4 abound!A story based on an interpretation of what happened while Saki Konishi was in the Midnight Channel. There's some harsh swearing, so be warned if that makes you uncomfortable. Also it's kinda edgy. Oh, and of course, like I mentioned: Some MAJOR spoilers for Persona 4 lie ahead. Read this at your own risk!





	A traitor's guilt, come to life

**Author's Note:**

> This was made primarily for an RP discord server I'm in. If you found this without being there, then, good for you. Also, I'm very much an amateur at writing these things; for those of you on the server, please give me criticism!

Her head hurt... it was foggy everywhere. She cried for help, but nobody came. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, sometimes she couldn't breathe... she eventually felt so sick that she passed out.

\---------

"Her" was Saki Konishi, 17. Last she remembered, she got back from her shift at Junes. That place was terrible. They ran out all the other businesses in Inaba, and then put up this smug, stupid image of a place where "everyday's great" or something ridiculous. Didn't help that she had to deal with that Yosuke guy. "Oh, Saki-senpai, this, Saki-senpai, that, Saki-senpai..." God, he was getting on her nerves. And then she had to help at her own family's shop, Konishi Liquors, when she got home. Her whole day was school, then work, then more work. The only good thing about helping with the shop was seeing Naoki. At least he talked and listened to her. Her parents were moody as of late, especially considering the recent slump in their business. At least, today, things seemed to be different. On her way home from J.... that place, some weird police guy wanted to ask her about the murder that just happened a week ago. It seemed like it would be nice to do, just to break the monotony of her life... but "nice" was the complete opposite of the experience.

\---------

She was cornered. Cornered and scared. She might have had a lot of pent-up resentment and rage that could have been let out and used in a fight, but that all petered out here.

"Of course, you ain't givin' me what I want... you're just like the rest of 'em." The amateur detective was walking towards Saki invasively, trying to run her into the corner. She replied with, "Wh-what the hell do you want from me, y-you creep?!" The detective just laughed, almost maniacally. "What do I want? Why the hell would you understand!?" He grabbed her arm and pushed her further into the corner. Saki yelled for help... but the walls kept the sound in. Nobody could hear, except for the detective himself. He cackled, and said, "Haha, you know, I bet you're wonderin' why I'm doing this. C'mon, ask..." Saki barely managed a "Yes...", to which the detective replied, "Well, it's cause I can! I joined the police force, and if it doesn't treat me right, the least I could do is use that power I get from it and have a little fun! Besides, you people don't even give me what I deserve!" He was practically standing over her. There was only an inch between Saki and the television in the room. The man said once more "Speakin' of power... might as well use this one I just got recently!" He grabbed her arm, and in one smooth movement, lifted her up and threw her into the TV. Surprisingly... she got in. "Hah... hah.. yes.. it works! Finally, I can give those bitches and whores what they deserve!" He kept laughing to himself. Eventually, he seemed to calm down a bit, but a sinister smile crept across his face once more. He dipped his head into the TV, and said, "If you scream loud enough, I'll let you out!" He pulled his head out from the TV and said, "Pssh.. like I even KNOW how to get 'em out. Man, I could really get used to this. A change of scenery'd be nice, though... gotta go somewhere without cameras. Eh, I'll just get rid of the footage." He laughed a bit to himself once more, before calming down, and reapplying the facade of a clueless, milquetoast, amateur detective that he had to wear so often. Tohru Adachi walked out of the room that day... but Saki didn't.

\---------

It was.. how long was she passed out? 3, 4 days? Either way, with the small amount of stamina she had, she would have been able to explore her surroundings. 

What was that purple blob doing there...? She walked, dared herself towards it. It let out a low growl, and became a reddish-black smoke that started to form... something. It didn't form too quickly, so she managed to run away before anything happened. Either way, she still was a bit shaken from the experience. So, there's monsters around here. Great.

\----------

The worst monster only made itself apparent after some time. The place she was in looked like Konishi Liquors, but every door would just lead to the same front room where they sold all their wares. The fridges weren't on, but the drinks they stored were still cold. Behind the counter wasn't much... until later. After multiple attempts at going through the different "exits", which only lead back to the same room, nothing seemed to change, at a first glance.  But someone was sitting on the counter, her legs laying over the front of it. Her hair was a familiar gray, and it was split up into many slightly messy curls. Her face was eerily familiar, too, except for a set of glaring, unnerving, almost _wrong_ looking yellow eyes. Then it hit her... that was _her_ face. And _her_ hair. But the clothes were different... she was wearing... a fedora? And a trench coat, along with some black work boots. It almost looked like an outfit that a character meant to obviously be a spy would wear in a cartoon, or something. Either way, the trench coat would've been a normal one, but it had the logo of Konishi Liquors on it, in several places. The breast pocket, the back, it was almost like a sign of advertisement, or allegiance, or something weird. However, the buttons on the coat were undone, revealing, when a draft of wind from somewhere hit, not only the contents of the interior pocket, but what was underneath the coat. The interior pockets carried multiple things, mostly various masks displaying different expressions. One pocket had a couple of small, trinket-sized flags with the Junes logo on it, and the last pocket carried a knife. What she was wearing underneath was her Junes work uniform: pants, a polo shirt, and an apron with the department store's logo plastered across.

Saki didn't wait around long to see what was going on, and turned around and ran. As she went through a door, the last thing she heard was a voice. It had an echo to it that sounded lower and distorted.

**"Wow, just running away? I assure you, there's nobody here but yourself!"**

As she escaped that... thing, a single thought was running through Saki's mind. 'Why did that thing have my face... and my hair... and my voice?'

\----------

She passed out again. This time, she only realized it as she got up. The fog made her feel fatigued and sick, and the forced rest she got didn't help it much. How long was she out? She couldn't tell the time anymore. 

Of course, she was met with that thing again. The one who looked like her. But this time, it was much more talkative.

**"Oh, it's you."**

"M-Me?"

**"Yeah, you. Or, well... I guess saying me would work better."**

"Wh-what do you mean? We're totally different!"

**"Pssh, yeah right.... totally different. Hey, other me, read 'em and weep!"**

The duplicate threw open one side of her trench coat, revealing once again, the menagerie of masks, the few flags, and the knife kept in the interior pockets, along with the work uniform worn under. She was wearing the same attire, along with a name tag on the apron that read "Saki Konishi." She also dramatically lifted her hat, revealing the same exact gray hair and face as Saki, along with those eerie yellow eyes. 

"W-Wait.. that uniform... i-it's mine! From Junes!"

**"Oh right, Junes. Don't tell me about that place. That shithole of a store I have to work at in order to even get a meager amount of money for my family to live on. That airhead Yosuke doesn't make it any easier. I hate him, no matter how much he cares about me!"**

"H-Hate him? What are you even talking about!"

**"I know what the hell I'm talking about, dammit! The only thing I hate more than that idiot is working there in the first place!"**

Saki was at a loss of words. Her duplicate figured it was the perfect time to lay into her.

**"It's horrible! That store had to move in and ruin everything for all the others! Especially your store! You were tight on money, so you ended up needing** ** somewhere to work. And where did you go? Right into the enemy's lines."** Saki's duplicate waved a little flag marked with the Junes logo, just to rub it in.

"S-Stop.. please.."

**"And do what, not give you more guilt over this? Ain't like you've been feeling enough."**

Saki definitely was feeling enough guilt about this, but her double didn't care.

**"Now you work there. Now you're just nothing but a pawn to them, just a traitor to your own kind. How's it feel, to be setting back your own store, to be actively helping out the competitor? To be fueling the tyrant threatening your very family's financial wellbeing?"**

No answer.

**"Tongue-tied, huh? Wow, classic. Just as expected of the no-good, backstabbing, family-dooming, traitorous bitch that you are!"**

"Wh.. wh... why are you being so.. mean to me..?"

**"Mean to you? Well, lemme spell this out for you, first. I am a shadow... the true self. I'm you... and you're me. Take it all in!**

Once again, just to rub it in, her duplicate revealed herself from the trench coat once more. Same hair, same face, same body.

**"Why am I being so mean to you? Because you hate yourself, that's why! Because you feel like you're only hurting your family, that's why! Because you feel like some asshole who's betraying everyone you love! Do I need to waste any more breath on some low-down double-crosser?!"**

"I... I d-don't h-hate myself... That's not true.."

**"Sorry, what? Say it a little louder, please!"**

"That's not true! You're..."

_"You're not me!"_

**"Heh... haha... hahahahaha! You're right! I ain't you! I'm much better! At least I'm good enough to take matters into my own hands! Just you wait... you're gonna regret this."**

Saki didn't respond. She was too shocked, too scared, too hurt to. Her shadow slinked out, back into the darkness behind the counter, the air around it burning a chilling blue. Right before it went out of view, it gave a parting shot in the form of taking the knife out of her coat and letting it shine under the lights of the room. Saki passed out... for the last time.

\----------

Saki woke up once more. Her head felt... clear. There was no fog around, today, and she felt like she had a lot of energy. She figured it would be a nice time to escape... but the doors were boarded up. The windows were, too. Now that she noticed... boxes were arranged to trap her. There was no escape. A familiar, clothed figure was standing on the wall of boxes. She jumped down, and faced Saki straight in the eyes.

**"Ahahaha! Are you ready?"**

"Wha- You?!"

**"Yeah, of course it's me. I said I'd take things into my own hands, and I wouldn't break a promise! You better remember this! It'll be the last thing you see!"** The shadow reached into her coat and brought out that knife. But she instead opted to start by kicking Saki in the knees. The boots she was wearing didn't help the pain at all. Saki crumpled to the ground, crippled by the blow, facing up at her attacker, with fear on her face. Her shadow walked over to her, and crouched in front of her.

**"Look at you, backed into a corner. Can't run from what's been coming for you now, you snake!"**

Saki could only watch in horror. Those same monsters she saw, that took the form of a purple blob on the floor, seemed to be watching the sight. Then, they all turned into a dark, reddish-black smoke, and seemed to cluster around the yellow-eyed duplicate of Saki. Saki felt herself starting to pass out again, and her vision was going. Eventually, all she saw was just black. The last thing she felt was being picked up by her shirt, and then an immense pain. Then... nothing.

\----------

The following morning, a girl was found, hanging from a telephone pole. It was only one person who noticed, but the word spread like wildfire. Eventually, it reached the ears of a certain, brown-haired boy, along with another boy, and a girl. That day, they decided to do something that would risk their lives. Did it pay off?

...mostly. Either way, after that, the foggy town of Inaba was shaken up, for better, or, for worse.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo boy. That was a lot to write. With Saki's Shadow, I kinda went with the whole "cartoon spy" outfit because I thematically associate spies with betrayal and such. As for the whole "exterior: Konishi Liquors, interior: Junes" thing, I wanted to give the sense of being "allied" with Junes (which really represents her helping and working at the store, which hinders her family business as a result) instead of Konishi Liquors. Hopefully that message got across.


End file.
